1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a building-integrated photovoltaic power unit capable of constituting a roof of a building or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photovoltaic power generation by installing roofing tiles equipped with solar cells or solar cell modules obtained by enclosing plate-shaped solar panels with a frame on the roof of a building or the like has been known. When solar cell modules are installed/constructed on the roof, there is a problem that working efficiency at a construction site is low and thus, it takes a long time because solar cell modules are arranged and installed after solar cell modules and bases or the like to install solar cell modules being carried onto the inclined roof.
Thus, a proposal is made to insert solar panels into lattices of a skeleton member formed like a grid by horizontal muntins and vertical muntins as a structure of a roof in a plant in advance and to place the unitized roof panels on the roof of a building.
Thereby, working efficiency at the construction site by unitizing solar panels as roof panels can be improved (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-061355).
However, according to JP-A No. 2002-061355, after solar panels being inserted into lattices of a skeleton member together with a heat insulator such as Styrofoam, the solar panels are prevented from slipping out of the lattices only by a pressing member fixed on the upper surface of the skeleton member and thus, there is a problem that waterproof performance is degraded because if the heat insulator contracts due to a temperature change, aging or the like, a gap is formed between the solar panels and the pressing member.
Moreover, solar panels and the like are inserted into lattices of a skeleton member and thus, the inner circumference of lattices of a skeleton member is made a little larger than the outer circumference of solar panels so that solar panels and the like can securely be inserted into lattices. Therefore, a gap may be formed between solar panels and the inner circumference of the skeleton member and the solar panels are more likely to rattle due to the gap, so that there is a possibility that noise is produced by vibration of solar panels caused by a rainstorm or solar panels are more likely to be damaged due to vibration fatigue.
Further, as described above, a gap is formed between a skeleton member and solar panels or the like and the ratio of involvement of rigidity of solar panels and the like in unitized roof panels is low so that strength/rigidity of the whole unit will be determined by the skeleton member. Thus, it becomes necessary to make horizontal muntins and vertical muntins constituting the skeleton member thicker more than necessary or use materials with high strength/rigidity, posing a problem of high cost.
Thus, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a building-integrated photovoltaic power unit that can easily be produced in a plant and has excellent weather resistance and high strength/rigidity.